Abstract :
Nanocrystalline mercury sulfide (HgS) thin films were deposited by chemical bath deposition (CBD) method onto the glass and fluorine
doped tin oxide (FTO) coated glass substrate from an aqueous alkaline bath (pH 8) at room temperature (300 K). Mercuric acetate
and thiourea were used as Hg2+ and S2 ion sources, respectively. The photoelectrochemical (PEC) studies of HgS films were carried
out, and the nanocrystalline films were found to be photoactive in polyiodide solution. The PEC cell configuration was p-HgS/0.1 M
(KOH–KI–I2)/C. From the current–voltage (I–V) characteristics, it is concluded that the HgS films are of p-type electrical conductivity.
The photovoltaic output characteristics were used to calculate the fill factor (ff) and solar conversion efficiency (g). The low value of g
may be due to the high value of series resistance (Rs) and interface states in the cell, which are responsible for the recombination
mechanism.
2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
